Is “Ecological” still allowed under EU law?
Not on its own. Under the EmpCo Directive this is a generic environmental claim, prohibited unless you can demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance.
How common is it?
We found this term in a flagged claim on 61 of the 680 websites we have scanned — 9%.
- sites affected
- 61
- times flagged
- 120
- flagged at highest severity
- 42
Why it is a problem
Banned under EMPCO-A1 as a generic environmental claim. In some EU markets (e.g. Spain, France) the term is legally protected for certified organic products only.
Check your text for “Ecological”
Paste a product description, ad copy or packaging text. Free, no account, result in seconds.
What to write instead
Use specific certifications, e.g. "Certified organic under EU Regulation 2018/848 (certificate #XX)."
The legal basis
Directive (EU) 2024/825 — the Empowering Consumers Directive — adds environmental claims to the Annex I blacklist of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. It has applied across the EU since 27 September 2026, with no transition period. Penalties reach 4% of annual turnover in the member state concerned.
Check whether your own site uses this term
Paste your URL and see every environmental claim on your pages checked against all 82 restricted terms. The first check is free and needs no account.
Writing a product description? Check your product text for “Ecological”
Figures come from EcoClaim's own scan corpus, last updated 2026-08-22. It is a self-selected sample — sites run through our public checker, not a random sample of EU commerce.